Premier status qualification requirements

Members reach MileagePlus Premier® status by earning the required number of Premier qualifying miles (PQM) or Premier qualifying segments (PQS). If you live in the United States, you also have to meet a minimum annual spending level, which is tracked with Premier qualifying dollars (PQD).

You earn PQM, PQS and PQD by flying United, United Express® and select airline partners.

Premier status has four levels

Earning Premier status is based on qualifying activity during the previous calendar year (January 1 - December 31). Once you qualify for a Premier status, the status is valid from the date when you qualified through the end of the following Program year.

2016 qualifications requirements (Apply to qualifying activity for status through the following Program year)

Premier level

PQM and PQS requirement (and PQD requirement for U.S. residents)

Premier Silver

25,000 PQM or 30 PQS (and $3,000)

Premier Gold

50,000 PQM or 60 PQS (and $6,000)

Premier Platinum

75,000 PQM or 90 PQS (and $9,000)

Premier 1K®

100,000 PQM or 120 PQS (and 12,000)

To be eligible to qualify for any Premier level, you must fly a minimum of four paid flight segments on flights operated by United and/or United Express during a calendar year.

In 2016, the PQD requirement is waived for Premier Silver, Premier Gold and Premier Platinum qualification if you meet one of the following criteria:

You spend at least $25,000 in Net Purchases during that calendar year on MileagePlus co-branded credit cards issued by Chase Bank USA, N.A.;
OR

You hold a United MileagePlus Presidential PlusSM Card.*

This PQD waiver does not apply for Premier 1K qualification.

If you use a military or diplomatic address (APO, DPO or FPO), you are exempt from the PQD requirement for all Premier levels, including Premier 1K.

Waiver for four-segment minimum

If you hold a MileagePlus Presidential Plus Card* or a United MileagePlus Club Card, you are exempt from the four-segment minimum as long as you are the primary Cardmember and your Credit Card account is in good standing at the time of qualification.

Premier status membership period

Once you qualify for a Premier status, the status is valid from the date when you qualified through the end of the following Program year.

For example, if you meet the four flight segment minimum, earn 25,000 PQM and earn $3,000 PQD on June 1, you will reach Premier Silver status on that date, and it will be valid through the end of the Program year.

As soon as you qualify for a higher level, we will automatically upgrade your Premier status, your new benefits will be effective, and we will send you a new membership card.

Visit the Premier Benefits page for more information about benefits by status level.

Earning PQM, PQS and PQD when you fly

Earning Premier qualifying credit on United and partner airlines

Flights operated by

Tickets issued by

PQM

PQS

PQD

United, United Express

Any airline

Star Alliance partner airlines

United(ticket number starting with "016")

Star Alliance partner airlines

Airlines other than United

Other MileagePlus partner airlines

United(ticket number starting with "016")

Other MileagePlus partner airlines

Airlines other than United

Certain exclusions to Premier qualifying credit (PQM/PQS/PQD) may apply. Premier earnings vary by airline. Premier status is not based on your total MileagePlus account award miles balance.

PQM are based on the number of paid flight miles traveled and the fare purchased.

PQS are based on the number of paid flown segments traveled and the fare class purchased.

PQD are determined by the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges.

United reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to make all calculations of mileage and Premier qualifying credits, to revise any calculations (including any estimates) as appropriate, and to consider all of our calculations final.

Earning PQM and PQS on United and United Express flights

Flights flown on or after January 1, 2016

Eligible purchased fare classes

Premier qualifying miles(PQM)

Premier qualifying segments(PQS)

F, J

300%

1.5

A, C, D, Z, P

200%

1.5

Y, B

150%

1.5

M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, G, N

100%

1

Flights flown before January 1, 2016

Eligible purchased fare classes

Premier qualifying miles(PQM)

Premier qualifying segments(PQS)

F, A

150%

1.5

J, C, D, Z, P

150%

1.5

Y, B

150%

1.5

M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, G, N

100%

1

Premier members also earn bonus award miles, which are determined by the member's status level, when flying United and United Express.

More information about earning PQD

Members earn PQD for the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges on the following flights and purchases, with some exclusions as listed lower on this page.

Flights operated by United and United Express

Flights operated by a Star Alliance or a MileagePlus partner airline with tickets issued by United (ticket number starting with "016")

Economy Plus® purchases

Certain specialty tickets, including but not limited to unpublished, consolidator/bulk, group, tour and opaque fares, do not earn PQD.

The price displayed when purchasing a ticket on united.com includes up to a 7.5% U.S. Federal Transportation Tax on the base amount of the fare on itineraries wholly within the United States. This tax also applies to certain itineraries between the United States and Canada or Mexico. You will not earn PQD or award miles for the full amount of the displayed price for these itineraries because the U.S. Federal Transportation tax is not eligible to earn PQD or miles.

Unpublished or opaque fares, including but not limited to those booked through priceline.com and Hotwire

Tickets, products or services purchased and used in violation of the terms and conditions applicable to United's MileagePlus partners

Additional conditions

Certain premium cabin flight segments may earn different award miles and Premier qualifying credits than those defined for your ticketed fare class in the chart above (your fare class for each flight segment is displayed during booking and when viewing a ticketed itinerary on united.com). In these cases, earning is based on the first letter of the fare basis code, which may correspond to an economy cabin fare class including Y, B, M, H, Q, U, V, W, S, T, L, K, G, or N. You can determine your fare basis code when booking a reservation on united.com by selecting the Fare Rules and Restrictions link on the itinerary review page prior to purchase.

Codeshare and partner flights: If you purchase a ticket for a flight that is marketed by United but operated by another airline (known as a codeshare flight), the fare class that appears on your ticket may differ from the fare class that the operating airline uses to determine flight miles earned. If a partner flight is not eligible to earn award miles, then it is also not eligible to earn Premier qualifying miles, segments or dollars.

Earning PQM with the MileagePlus Presidential Plus Credit Card*

Existing MileagePlus Presidential Plus Credit Card members can use the card to accelerate their progress towards Premier status. Cardmembers can convert their Flexible Premier qualifying miles (Flex PQM) into Premier qualifying miles that count towards Premier status. Please note that Flex PQM may only be used toward qualification for levels through Premium Platinum. Flex PQM may not be combined with Premier qualifying miles (PQM) to earn additional Premier Upgrades or to obtain Premier 1K status. You must earn 100,000 PQM exclusive of Flex PQM in order to qualify for Premier 1K status.

*The MileagePlus Presidential Plus Credit Card is no longer available to new applicants.

MileagePlus rules:

The accrual of miles and Premier® qualifying credits, redemption of awards and provision of benefits through the United MileagePlus program, including the Premier Program, are subject to change and are subject to the rules of the MileagePlus program.